First Responder Smart Phone App Helps In Green Car Crashes

For first responders, helping deal with the aftermath of a car crash is a common occurrence. But while dealing with crashed gasoline cars is an everyday event for firefighters, police officers and paramedics, crashes involving plug-in, hydrogen and other green cars are relatively rare.

Enter the National Alternative Fuels Training Consortium from West Virginia, with a new smartphone application which it hopes will bridge the gap between training programs and the real-world.

Currently available for iOS devices and soon to be released as an Android OS application, the guide provides detailed information to first responders on every alternative-fueled car currently in production.

Covering everything from identifying specific makes and models of hydrogen fuel cell, electric, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and biofueled cars, through to detailed safety post-crash procedures for every car listed, the guide can easily be glanced at on the scene of an accident to ensure the correct procedures are always followed.

While the guide helps first responders make crashed alternative fuel cars safe after an accident, it doesn’t instruct on post-crash procedures for specialized skills like discharging battery packs or safely depressurizing damaged fuel tanks. For now, that’s the job of specially-trained salvage teams sent out by automakers after a crash.

Although the application is designed primarily for first responders, it also gives an interesting insight into first response safety procedures for owners of alternative-fueled green cars.

If you're interested, you can download the application for free from the iTunes Store. Do NOT attempt ANY of the procedures listed without thorough safety training from an appropriate agency!